High speed electronic digital computers of the type produced by Cray Research, Inc., the assignee hereof, generally utilize densely packaged or stacked banks of circuit modules including what are commonly known as clock modules. A circuit module often includes a pair of printed circuit board assemblies with a heat sink or "cold plate" sandwiched between them for dissipating heat generated by the electronic devices mounted to the board. Each clock module typically includes a single clock printed circuit board assembly which carries thereon a number of circuit, logic and memory devices including numerous integrated circuits. The clock circuit board assembly is also mounted to a cold plate. Typically, the cold plate for the clock circuit board must be custom designed for end application.
Proper cooling is essential in supercomputers; excess heat can build up, causing malfunction and failure of integrated circuits and other electronic components. The importance of effective and efficient cooling for each application grows as circuit board assemblies become smaller and more densely packed with ever smaller, faster components. Some supercomputers can get by with a less expensive, lower maintenance air cooling system. Others require the more efficient cooling of a liquid cooled system.
In today's competitive market, the computer industry is driven to reduce the size and increase the speed of computers and components, reduce the number of parts and part variations, reduce manufacturing and assembly complexity, and reduce manufacturing, assembly and part costs. One of the ways the industry has used to achieve the these goals is to produce standardized, interchangeable components and modular assemblies to eliminate the prior practice of using custom designed components.
In the past, the type of cold plate for any given clock module design would depend on whether the cooling system of the particular computer application into which it was installed was air or liquid cooled. Companies would have to build and maintain an air cooled version constructed utilizing an air cooled cold plate and a liquid cooled version constructed using a liquid cooled cold plate.
What is needed is a single cold plate that will replace both a liquid cooled and air cooled cold plate. What is also needed is a single cold plate which will satisfactorily cool a variety of clock modules and components. Additionally, what is needed is a cold plate that will provide efficient cooling in both air cooled and liquid cooled computer applications. What is further needed is an apparatus which will function as either a liquid cooled or air cooled cold plate.